Bizarre questions...

[Cynthia8828]

Hello Ladies:

I have a bizarre question that I hope you can help me with. I have been working out now for 8 weeks, and for quite some time, I saw fantastic results in my legs. They have been getting harder and my quads were looking beautiful. Anyway, two things are happening to me. First, all of the sudden, in the past week or two, my skin looks bumpy and WORSE then when I started. It is kinda like I am GAINING cellulite (even though it diminished for quite some time). What is up with that? Someone told me it is the muscle pushing the fat to the surface causing those bumps, and that it will go away in time. I have never heard of this before.

Second, I seem to be having a problem stretching lately. I can't get a good stretch any more. This concerns me. Any ideas why?

Thanks so much everyone!!

God Bless,
Cynthia

 

[kathryn]

Cynthia,
Your questions aren't bizarrre at all! (Though my advice may be a bit genera).
It would be helpful if you let us know what kind of exercise you are doing. If it's mostly weight work, then perhaps the "muscle pushing the fat out" is the cause for more cellulite.

Usually stretching with strength training is a great way to gain flexibility, so I'm not sure why you'd be less flexible than before. Just make sure you do a good stretch after your workouts. If you do workouts like "Slow and Heavy," make use of the 1-minute breaks between sets to do a good stretch of the muscles you just used. It will improve both your lifting ability and your flexibility.

 

[Cynthia8828]

Hello Kathryn:

Thanks for your reply. I am pretty much doing 3 days of cardio and three days of lifting. Per Annette's suggestions, I am continuing to lift HEAVY. I pretty much do all Cathe, such as the S&H or the PS series (Also Body max, Power hour, etc. when I want to kick in endurance.) As far as stretching, I do believe that I stretch quite a bit, but the range of the stretch seems smaller and smaller. I used to be able to touch my nose to my knees during a stretch, and now I can barely get half way there.

Someone told me that I might be "bulking" to fast, whatever that means. I don't know what to think. The more I know, the less I know...

Thanks for all your help,
Cynthia

 

[Cynthia8828]

Bump...

 

[kristina]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jul-10-02 AT 01:58PM (Est)[/font][p]Hi Cynthia-
As far as the cellulite, I find from day to day mine is more or less noticable depending on how much water my bod is retaining. It's hard to know for sure if you are picking up cellulite or it is just more visible, without body fat testing.
You should make sure you are drinking TONS of water thoughout the day, and also evaluate your sodium intake. Try adding a glass or two to your current regimen, and cutting your sodium intake if applicable. I would also suggest adding a day, or even two, of cardio. In my experience, cellulite only responds to cardio, between 4-5 days a week. Maybe add a brisk half hour to 45 minute walk for the extra days???
As for the stretching, heavy lifting requires heavy stretching. Your body is telling you that you aren't stretching enough; whenever I started a new weight training rotation, I had the same issues and had to do specific stretches for those areas. I don't think you should worry, but definitely increase the length of time you stretch WHEN YOUR MUSCLES ARE WARM, and make sure you are targeting those muscles that are stiff. Yoga is fantastic for the hams, adductors, and rotators. IMHO.
Congrats on your success. SOunds like you are literally working your fanny off!!!

 

[kathryn]

Another thought: maybe you were "cheating " on some of the stretches before, and now you have better form. For example, when doing lying hamstring stretches, it's easy to feel like you're getting a better stretch if you press the small of your back down to the mat, but you're not stretching the hamstrings any more than if you leave the back in a neutral position.